Táxi Fantasma

Filmmakers too often throw a lot of scenes together without regard to how they interact logically. One scene will follow another without a sense of consistent action. The filmmaker knows what he wants to say to the audience but he gets caught up in each individual scene and will not have a feel for the overall production. This problem is not uncommon, but it is rectified by the hands of a skillful editor. Unfortunately, skillful editors can sometimes be difficult to come by. "Ghost Taxi", as it is known in the USA, is a prime example of this. There are a number of clever scenes but overall, the film does not make much sense. The hero dies in a crash. His girlfriend is threatened by the evil spirit that caused his own death. He fights to save her and dispose of the evil spirit. This would probably make a decent comedy, spooky movie if it were made by Will Ferrell.

I can't believe I almost passed on this awesome movie because of its low IMDb rating. Quite possibly one of the most original, if not weirdest, horror flicks out there, "Terror Taxi" is a wild mix of Stephen King's high-octane "Christine", the 80s tear-jerker "Ghost", a little bit of "Beetlejuice" and the Korean masterpiece which needs no introduction other than its title: "Attack the Gas Station!"

Plot? Well, think of the Christopher Walken epic "The Prophecy", only instead of angels fighting a war in heaven over the fate of mankind, it's dead taxi drivers getting their kicks. It gets pretty fast-paced in the 2nd half, there are a lot of twists & turns, crazy minor characters pop up almost randomly, and if you're not paying attention you might get lost. But if you manage to keep up, it pays for its price of admission and then some. I think a lot of the confusion mentioned by other reviewers is due to the number of characters in the story. But if you know who's who, it should all make sense.

Here's a list to help you keep score:

1. Gilnam - our hero, a basic, everyday kind of dude

2. Gilnam's girlfriend - a basic, everyday kind of chick

3. Mantis - a basic, everyday psycho ghost, sort of like a Korean Freddy Krueger in a taxicab

4. Golf player cabbie - a suave, sharp dressed murdering taxi driver

5. Okay a.k.a. "Hemorrhoid" - Golf player's sidekick who steals the show with his bizarre David-Bowie-coked-up-Ziggy-Stardust-years look

6. Badass cop - as the name suggests. He's actually a dork

7. Dorky cop - as the name suggests. He's actually ...well, a dork

8. Fat, bug-eating gas station attendant - don't worry, no actual bugs were harmed

9. Weird dead little girl - my favorite character. What's a Korean horror flick without a weird dead little girl? (Especially one who can rollerblade at 80 mph and give out relationship advice like Oprah)

10. Gilnam's best friend - another good one, very comical, complex & surprising to say the least

In the DVD interviews it's mentioned that a lot of them are acting for the first time which surprises me because each & every character is so colorful, well-presented and thoroughly likable. In real life they seem like a great bunch, saying modest things like "I hope you enjoy my performance, and if not, I will try to improve my art." How can you not love em??

If you watch the trailer, bear in mind it's pretty misleading. First of all, the trailer looks pretty cheaply made with low-resolution stills and goofy fonts, but the feature presentation is considerably more polished. Also, this is not a dark, suspenseful screamer. In fact I would say it's at least 60% comedy. Just go into it expecting to laugh and have a wild ride. It does have some violence, blood & guts, but I'd say it's pretty tame. The director obviously intended it to be more of a dark comedy than a thriller.

All the same, if I ever visit Soeul and am in need of public transportation, I'll be sure to stick to the subway.